Captain on Bradford

Mat Mitchel-King says that the Dons must come out fighting at Bradford on Saturday and earn the right to play their passing style.

The AFC Wimbledon skipper admitted that his side were “naïve” at the Pirelli Stadium and contributed to their own downfall by trying to play too much football at times.

We have to soak up what they are going to throw at us and do a professional job because I think against Burton we were a bit naïve as a team.” Speaking to Dons Player, Mitchel-King believes his side must be prepared to scrap more for the points at Valley Parade. “We know Bradford have a good team and have spent money during the summer,” he said. “They are a very direct team and we know that we need to go there with a game plan. We may not be able to play as much pretty football as we would like, but there are a lot of teams in this league who play in a direct way. We have to make sure that we can cope with that on Saturday. The work-rate is the main thing as we have to earn the right to play our football.

Appointed as Wimbledon’s captain for 20012/13, Mitchel-King is determined to repay the faith of the fans after the 6-2 defeat at Burton.

“The fans were brilliant at the Chesterfield match, I had friends over from America and they could not believe the atmosphere,” he added. “I know how much this club is special as it is a genuine fans club. It must be difficult for them after so much success over the years as they are so used to winning. It is a more testing time now with the club trying to assemble a good team on a tight budget and playing at a higher level. We know we have the fans who will stick with us through thick and thin. But we have to give them something to take from games and we will aim to do that on Saturday.”